Humpback whale photographed breaching in front of Golden Gate Bridge

A naturalist on-board the San Francisco Whale Tours' vessel says he captured images aboard a 5 p.m. cruise, including the shot above that was timed so perfectly we had trouble believing it was real. Other photographs provided by the company show a very active scene just west of the Golden Gate.

"It is rare to see the whales so close to the bay," Kathryn Nazar, a spokesperson for Pier 39-based Whale Tours, wrote in an email. "We have seen it the last couple years [but] more in the summer months."